AirPort

[thumper]

well, i've been thinking about getting airport extream for my 17"pb.

i dont have any other computers at my place so its just to have wireless internet.

i looked at apples website

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...NoL0S51p8hGNi5/0.0.7.1.0.5.21.1.4.1.2.0.0.1.0

-and there are 2 models of airport extream.

i'm not really sure which one i need.
id rather buy the one thats almost $100 cheaper- can anyone help me out here?

also i was wondering if there are any cool things you can do with it, like i noticed there is a USB port on airport, could you put a USB Hub on airport and have things like a Camera dock and a midiman input on there?

 

[nickfit]

The only reason why you would need the more expensive one is if you connect to the internet via normal phone lines, thus needing the modem. The more expensive one also allows for an external antenna, which you should only need if you want to use it throughout a large house.

As for the usb, it is intended for printing, but I suspect it could be used for other usb devices.

Now, you can defintely go much cheaper by buying a non-apple wireless router. I have a Netgear and it works fine. It does not, though, have a usb port. I suspect, though, that there are non-apple models that have usb.

 

[thumper]

Thanks nick

 

[cpjakes]

I would have to say that while Apple's wireless base offerings are nice (design and configuration-free functionality out of the box) they are too expensive.

As for USB, I think that printers are the most you can do with them at this point, at least without a lot of headache.

Personally, I use Netgear wireless products and have a PowerBook, G4 desktop, and PC running wireless with a wired PC. No problems anywhere.

cpjakes

 

[Mantat]

Here is the use of the airport with the modem:
- you can connect remotely from outside your house just by calling at your house, the modem will then connect you to the internet (if you are on cable, of course). This can also be used to connect to a home network from outside the house. This is a less known feature but its very usefull if your ISP doesnt provide a phone connection in the cable package.

Other advantage is the look. Only the Apple and NetGear router are nice looking, the rest are fugly and should be hiden at all cost.

As for connecting something to the USB port, I dont think its possible unless the device has the firmwiere to do so. But you can put a network drive with the router without any problem.

Go on cnet.com, they have a review (kinda old) of the range of various routers. Personnaly, when I will move to my new loft, I will go with the Apples router with the modem because of the look and being able to connect to my home network from outside the house.

Good luck and dont forget to secure your network!

 

[patrick0brien]

-thumper

Either one is a good buy. I've found some significant advantages to the Airport Vs. Netgear, Linksys, and D-Link.

1. More secure: The config utility is resident on your client machine, not the device.

2. Most spherical transmission. The others have strange shapes, even a two-blob transmission zone. Weird.

 

[thumper]

thanks

i just got it hooked up and working, i cannt belive how fast the internet is!!

wireless internet is freakin awesome.